Dye sublimated synthetic burlap flag

ABSTRACT

A dye sublimated synthetic burlap flag that includes the use of a synthetic burlap material made from polyethylene and the printing of a design upon the material using dye sublimation printing and high fastness inks. A method of creating such a flag includes creating a synthetic fabric to resemble burlap fabric using polyethylene fibers, printing a design on the synthetic fabric using high fastness ink, and incorporating the synthetic fabric into an article.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/828,387, filed May 29, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention generally relates to decorative flags. More specifically, the invention relates to a dye sublimated synthetic burlap flag.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The sale and display of flags is prevalent in many locales. Flags may come in various shapes and sizes and often contain text or graphics printed thereon. The use of burlap material (i.e., jute) has become a popular material for certain decorative flags. The nature of the jute fibers, however, makes burlap material difficult to decorate with text or graphics. Certain current uses of burlap material on flags require text or graphics to be applied to the burlap material by hand. This limitation renders burlap flags difficult and costly to mass produce. Thus, there is a need for a synthetic fiber that resembles burlap to which graphics and text may be easily applied for use as decorative flags.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to various exemplary embodiments, including articles such as synthetic burlap flags and the like, as well as methods for making and printing the same.

These and other features and advantages of the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of a dye sublimated synthetic burlap flag.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a process of creating a dye sublimated synthetic burlap flag as in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

Before the present invention is described in further detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described, and as such may, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting, since the scope of the present invention will be limited only by the appended claims.

A number of materials are identified as suitable for various aspects of the synthetic burlap flag. These materials are to be treated as exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can also be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, a limited number of the exemplary methods and materials are described herein.

Unless otherwise noted, the drawings of the present application are not necessarily drawn to scale. They demonstrate the basic relationship of the constituent parts, but not necessarily their respective sizes.

It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

As shown in FIG. 1, a flag 10 includes a main panel 12 surrounded by a border 14. The main panel 12 is made from a polyethylene fabric designed to resemble the appearance and texture of burlap or another jute fabric. The main panel 12 may be made from any other olefin fibers designed to resemble certain natural fibers, such as sisal fibers. The border 14 may be sewn or otherwise attached to the edges of the main panel 12 for decorative purposes and/or to reduce the occurrence of fraying or unraveling. The border 14 is optional and is not included in all implementations.

The main panel 12 includes a design 16. The design 16 may include various shapes and colors. The design 16 may represent text, patterns, logos, or any other visual insignia. The design 16 may include appliqué elements integrated within the design 16 and may also include felt features. The appliqué and felt features can be applied to the main panel 12. The design 16 is printed onto the main panel 12 through a dye sublimation process, described in more detail below. The design 16 printed through the dye sublimation process can be printed with inks that are designed to reduce or prevent fading and bleeding, and are UV resistant. Therefore, the flag 10 not only appears to have a main panel 12 made out of a natural-fiber-based fabric, such as burlap, with a design thereon, but the entire flag 10 can be easily reproduced, created quickly and efficiently in mass quantities, can be printed with increased precision, and can be made to withstand the elements more so than current natural-fiber flags.

In order to add appliqué features to the main panel 12, the following steps are undertaken:

1. Pre-cut the background flag from roll of polyester fabric

2. Computer digitizes the design to a file then laser cut the fabric into letters or shape of designs.

3. Use hot wire pen to temporary attached shape of appliqué piece or letter on the background fabric.

4. Use embroider machine to stitch around the appliqué pieces onto the background flag.

5. Add glitter or felt fabric using embroider machine. Same as step 4.

6. Add 3D elements such as pompom or cut-out flower using manual embroider machine.

The flag 10 shown in FIG. 1 additionally includes an embellishment 18 attached to the flag 10. The embellishment 18 may be made from the same materials as the main panel 12. The embellishment 18 may be attached to the flag 10 in any of a various number of means, including sewing, adhesion, or other means. It will be understood that any number of embellishments may be included in, on, or around the flag 10, and that such embellishments may be printed using the dye sublimation process described in more detail below.

As shown in FIG. 2, a synthetic fabric 30, such as that used in creating the main panel 12 as that shown in FIG. 1, is created in a Create Synthetic Fabric step 20. The Create Synthetic Fabric step 20 includes known processes of creating olefin fibers and incorporating them into a synthetic fabric 30 designed to resemble fabric made from natural fibers, such as burlap fabric.

The resultant synthetic fabric 30 is then printed in a Print step 22. The Print step 22 includes printing the design 32 onto the synthetic fabric 30 using a dye sublimation printer. The Print step 22 uses a set of design instructions 26 and a set of print instructions 24. The design instructions 26 contain instructions on how to re-create the particular design 32, and may be stored in a memory, such as on a computer hard disk, a flash memory, or any other form of memory. The design instructions 26 may be a vector graphics file (e.g., SVG), a raster graphics file (e.g., JPEG), or any other type of file readable to re-create the particular design 32. The printing instructions 24 contain the specific settings and instructions necessary to print the design instructions 26 to the synthetic fabric 30 using the dye sublimation process. Specifically, the printing instructions 24 may contain information related to the pressure, temperature, and dwell time settings necessary to print the design 32 to the synthetic fabric 30. The printing instructions 24 may include setting the pressure to a setting of 125 PSI (pounds per square inch), the temperature to a setting of 420 degrees Fahrenheit, and the dwell time to a setting of 20 seconds. The printing instructions 24 may include setting the pressure to a setting within the range of about 100-150 PSI, the temperature to a setting within the range of about 400-440 degrees Fahrenheit, and the dwell time to a setting within the range of about 15-25 seconds. After the design 32 has been printed onto the synthetic fabric 30, the synthetic fabric 30 may be incorporated into an article. As shown in FIG. 2, the design 32 is a collection of text. Other types of designs, such as graphics and the like, may also be used.

The Print step 22 may make use of certain High Fastness Ink 34 during the dye sublimation process. Such High Fastness Ink 34 may include “ArTainium UV+” ink produced by Sawgrass Technologies. The High Fastness Ink 34 may have high fastness ratings in one or more categories, including outdoor light, rubbing, and water fastness. The High Fastness Ink 34 may have an outdoor light fastness of at least approximately 4, a rubbing fastness of at least approximately 4, and a water fastness of at least approximately 4, depending on the desired characteristics of the final product. The High Fastness Ink 34 may be UV resistant ink.

As shown in FIG. 2, the synthetic fabric 30 may be incorporated into an article, such as a flag 10, in an Incorporate Into Article step 28. In the Incorporate Into Article 28 step, the synthetic fabric 30 may be incorporated into a flag 10 through various known methods of either turning a piece of fabric into a flag or combining multiple pieces of fabric together to make a flag. Referring to FIGS. 1-2, borders 16 may be sewn on to or otherwise attached to the synthetic fabric 30 by various known techniques in order to create a flag 10 as shown in FIG. 1. The borders 16 may contain apertures to facilitate hanging and display of the flag 10.

A flag 10 may include one or more pieces of synthetic fabric 30 having one or both of a first and second side with a design 32 printed thereon. Therefore, a flag 10 may contain a design 32 printed on one or both of a first and second side by using either a main panel 16 made of a piece of synthetic fabric 30 having both its first and second side printed, or by using a main panel 16 made of multiple pieces of synthetic fabric 30 sandwiched together having only the outward facing sides printed.

Referring to FIG. 1, the border 14 may include a sleeve 15 across the top, short side of the flag 10 to allow the insertion of a flag pole or other hanging device. The sleeve 15 may be a solid sleeve (not shown) or may incorporate a plurality of tabs 17. The sleeve 15 may either be open on both ends so that a flag pole may fit entirely through the sleeve 15, or may be open at only one end so that a flag pole may be placed within the sleeve 15 but cannot exit through the opposite end of the sleeve 15.

In other embodiments, the synthetic fabric 30, having been printed with a design 32 as described above, may be incorporated into articles other than a typical flag. For example, the synthetic fabric 30 having been printed with a design 32 may be incorporated into a home decor product, into upholstery, or into outdoor cushions. The synthetic fabric 30 may be incorporated into various other articles, allowing for those articles to contain computer-printed designs 32 while maintaining the appearance of natural burlap.

Numeric values and ranges are provided for various aspects of the implementations described above. These values and ranges are to be treated as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific exemplary implementations, it is evident to those skilled in the art that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, the invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope and spirit of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An article comprising: a piece of synthetic fabric formed of olefin fibers and constructed to resemble a natural fiber based fabric, and a design applied to the synthetic fabric using a dye sublimation process.
 2. The article of claim 1, wherein the synthetic fabric is formed of polyethylene fibers and is constructed to resemble burlap.
 3. The article of claim 2, wherein the design includes appliqué features.
 4. The article of claim 2, wherein the design includes felt features.
 5. The article of claim 2, further comprising a border surrounding the synthetic fabric.
 6. The article of claim 1 formed into upholstery.
 7. A synthetic burlap flag comprising: a main panel of synthetic fabric formed of polyethylene fibers and constructed to resemble burlap fabric in color and texture, a border attached to the main panel, and sublimated high fastness ink located on the main panel.
 8. The synthetic burlap flag of claim 7, wherein the sublimated high fastness ink forms a design element.
 9. The synthetic burlap flag of claim 8, wherein the design element includes an appliqué feature.
 10. The synthetic burlap flag of claim 8, wherein the design element includes a felt feature.
 11. A method of creating a synthetic burlap flag comprising: creating a synthetic fabric to resemble burlap fabric using polyethylene fibers; printing a design on the synthetic fabric using high fastness ink; and incorporating the synthetic fabric into an article.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the incorporating step occurs prior to the printing step.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the printing step includes setting a dwell time within a range of approximately 15 and 25 seconds, setting a temperature in the range of approximately 400 and 440° F., and setting a pressure in the range of approximately 100 and 150 PSI.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the printing step includes setting a dwell time of 20 seconds, a temperature of 420° F., and a pressure of 125 PSI.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the printing step includes the act of applying an appliqué feature to the synthetic fabric.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the printing step includes the act of applying a felt feature to the synthetic fabric. 